FE : Going to a model school : Oct 28,2007

Going to a model school
 ABB India's initiative infuses life into a school building in Vadodara
 Sulekha Nair

W HEN first grader Rustom Lodaya goes back to school in Vadodara, it will not be to the open-air classroom under a tree that he went to. School was not a secure building for Lodaya earlier. Not that he or his parents eking out a livelihood in the slums could do much about it. Vadodara's Fatehpura government primary school is anything but a school. Leaking roofs, broken down walls, no toilets and a rundown drinking water facility is the story of this school, which the authorities and its pupils have accepted. It is a government school, after all, is their refrain.

ABB Ltd decided to step in. "Schools are one of the focus areas of our corporate social responsibility," says H S Bawa, head, corporate communications, ABB India and South Asia Region. The school is near ABB's biggest manufacturing facility in Vadodara. When ABB started working with the school earlier this year, it was in a state of disrepair and even dilapidated in many sections, recounts Bawa. "The little children were forced to study outdoors as many of the classrooms had leaking roofs - a nightmare during the monsoon season."

Rashmi Shah, principal, Fatehpura Primary School says the highlight of the renovation was the "restoration of the 100-year-old dilapidated building which infused new life to our primary school. We have seen an increase in new admissions and an improvement in attendance. We can feel the new-found enthusiasm amongst students who now have proper classrooms, drinking water facility, toilets and even a safer play area."

As part of its Phase 1 engagement with the school, ABB renovated classrooms, set up washrooms for girls and boys and upgraded the drinking water facility. One of the highlights has been the restoration of the 101-year-old ‘heritage building' which was in a poor state.
Perhaps, as a testimony to the early success of the project, the number of children at the school has swelled from 1175 to nearly 1300 (5-12 years), says Bawa.

In Phase 2, ABB plans to support the school with education facilitation programmes, medical camps and greening of the area. In addition to the infrastructure, the company also plans to conduct study tours, value-education programmes, awareness workshops, painting com petitions, etc, to enrich the overall learning process.

"ABB's efforts have made Fatehpura Primary School a model institution in our district," says Mehul Zaveir, chairman, Municipal School Board, Vadodara. "I think, this effort can provide an inspiration for other corporates and organisations, to work with schools and education authorities and provide needy children with the right to a quality education. This is a vital need in our country today and education will play a key role in grooming these children as responsible citizens of tomorrow."

Publication : FE; Section : Citizen; Pg : 15; Date : 28/10/07

URL : http://70.86.150.130/financialexpress/ArticleText.aspx?article=28_10_2007_015_002